Despite all the care he had taken, she still could not accept him easily.
Feeling the increasing resistance, Varkas frowned before lowering himself over her again and drawing a deep breath.
It was a mistake.
The heat of her scent, richer than usual, filled his lungs, leaving his mind reeling.
Grinding his teeth, he clutched the headboard even harder.
With a loud crack, the solid wood splintered beneath his grip.
Startled, he instinctively looked down, afraid she might have noticed and become frightened.
But his wife seemed completely oblivious to everything happening around her.
Seeing those dazed eyes, utterly consumed by unfamiliar sensations, snapped the last thread of his reason.
Bracing himself beside her head, he slowly began moving.
At that moment, the only thing he could still manage was to keep himself from losing all restraint like a stallion in rut.
Every muscle in his body trembled from the effort of controlling himself, terrified of damaging a body so fragile it seemed a strong wind might carry it away.
His brow tightly furrowed, Varkas maintained only the shallowest rhythm.
But when the resistance refused to lessen, he finally drew back.
At that instant, she wrapped both arms tightly around his back and let out a broken sound, somewhere between a sob and a whimper.
The moment he realized his name was mixed within it, every drop of blood in his body surged with scorching heat.
Without removing his tongue from her mouth, he resumed the movement he had interrupted.
He could no longer restrain himself.
The desire he had finally unleashed gradually gathered speed.
He struggled desperately to regain control, but once his body had escaped his command, its movements only became more forceful.
His face tightened with dismay as he searched her expression.
“Does it hurt?”
At his strained question, she shook her head and clung to his neck.
“N-not at all.”
Her damp breath clung to his ear like hot wax.
Gripping her waist tightly, he desperately gathered what remained of his self-control.
She could be lying.
Wasn't she someone who habitually endured pain without complaint?
Perhaps she was forcing herself to swallow her suffering again.
He must not let his guard down...
“But my body feels so strange, Varkas... Do something.”
Her tearful voice swept every remaining thought from his mind.
Grinding out a curse he had never spoken in his life, he pressed her firmly into the sheets.
As her damp body embraced him completely, even the last fragment of rational thought disappeared.
Soon the room was filled with the violent creaking of the bed and the sound of ragged breathing in the darkness.
Brushing the sweat running down his forehead away with the back of his hand, he looked down at her body moving beneath his own.
Her languid movements resembled a water lily tossed upon rough waves.
Holding that delicate body close, he drove himself to the very edge of desire.
Then, her body suddenly began to tremble in tiny spasms.
Holding her trembling waist tightly, his own back went rigid.
The next instant, a fierce shudder shot through his spine as a violent release swept through him.
Feeling his vision blur, he slowly closed his eyes.
He had no idea how long they remained like that.
Waiting for his breathing to settle, he finally raised himself slowly and looked down at her.
Brushing the sweat-soaked strands of hair away from her face, he found her staring blankly into space.
The sight of her lying completely limp, without the slightest movement, sent a cold sensation through his chest.
Cupping her cheeks, wet with sweat and tears, he anxiously searched her unfocused eyes.
“Are you all right?”
She looked up at him with a dazed expression.
Fortunately, she showed no signs of pain.
She simply seemed utterly exhausted, as though every last ounce of strength had been drained from her.
Moved by an impulse he could not explain, he kissed the corner of her eye.
Her hazy gaze immediately widened, ripples of emotion surging through her dilated pupils.
Before he could even wonder why, she pushed against his shoulder.
Frowning, he looked down at her.
She was frantically trying to wriggle out from beneath him.
Instinctively, he stopped her.
“What's wrong?”
“Move! You're heavy!”
As her struggling grew more frantic, he reluctantly lifted himself away.
The instant he did, she rolled to the side, fumbled for her clothes at the foot of the bed, and hurriedly tried to cover herself.
Watching her quietly, Varkas reached out and drew her back by the waist.
“Stay here a little longer.”
“What for?”
She flinched before snapping back, her voice still trembling.
“It's over now. I'm going back to my room.”
“Who said it was over?”
Pulling the woman trying to escape onto his lap, he brushed his lips against the heated curve of her neck.
The sweet scent of her skin sent warmth flooding through his body once more.
“Sleep in my room tonight.”